Government

St. Joseph County saw a drop of four-tenths of a percent in its unemployment rate from February to March. According to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget Analysis, the county’s unemployment rate for March was 8.8 percent. The figure also marked a decrease from March 2011, when the county’s unemployment figure was an even 11 percent. St. Joseph …

The St. Joseph County Road Commission announced that it expects to finish work on one road project this morning and start repairs on another later this month. A job started Saturday at the railroad crossing on Muskrat Road, just east of U.S. 131 in Park Township, was slated to be finished this morning. Meanwhile, the commission said work will start …

Three Rivers Fire Department Chief Dan Tomlinson said the department received word that its rating from the Insurance Services Office will be upgraded to a Class 4. Addressing members of the city commission earlier this week, Tomlinson said the one-step improvement means the fire-department insurance auditor noted the comprehensiveness of the department warranted the Class 4 designation. The upside for …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has renewed a one-year contract with Fabius Township for law-enforcement coverage. The deal means a sheriff’s department deputy will provide coverage exclusively to the township 40 hours a week. Tuesday’s approval by the county board marks the 18th consecutive year the two entities have worked out such an agreement. Cost for the service …

St. Joseph County Commissioner Allen Balog has announced he will seek re-election in November to a second, two-year term. The former mayor of Three Rivers, Balog said he filed paperwork Tuesday with the county clerk’s office, making official his intentions. Balog joined the commission in January 2011. With redistricting of the county commission’s boundaries to go into effect in 2013, …

Police responding to a report of a fight in progress uncovered a methamphetamine laboratory Wednesday in Sturgis. Two men, ages 50 and 42 and both from Sturgis, were arrested around 1:30 a.m. after police entered an apartment in the 200 block of E. Hatch St. and discovered a meth lab that had exploded earlier. Officers discovered the apartment after they …

  A team of investigators from the Sturgis Police Department, along with security officials from Wal-Mart, are investigating an estimated $10,000 embezzlement by an unnamed number of employees. According to a department news release, Sturgis Police said employees were involved in a ring centering on the theft of electronic equipment dating to December. Officers spent several hours overnight Tuesday retrieving …

A 19-year-old Three Rivers man was arrested on a warrant Tuesday after he fled the Twin County Probation Center last week. Three Rivers Police said the man, whose name was not provided in a department news release, was found at the Edgewater Apartments. He was wanted on a felony warrant for escape from jail. An 18-year-old resident of the apartment …

St. Joseph County voters could be asked in August to decide whether to renew a millage to support the county’s E-911 Central Dispatch. Meanwhile, a public hearing has been set for feedback on a proposed millage renewal for the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging. The two matters were addressed Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Regarding …

Dozens of well-wishers gathered Tuesday at Three Rivers City Hall to salute Ken Baker. The 90-minute open house to honor Baker and his 40 years of service to the city culminated with a proclamation presented by Mayor Tom Lowry at the onset of Tuesday’s city commission meeting. With the city’s police force on hand to acknowledge the former chief and …